Fantasy Golf Predictions – The 2013 RBC Heritage

Fantasy golf predictions for the 2013 RBC Heritage April 18th – 21st, 2013.

The Course:  Harbour Town Golf Links is the home of this year’s RBC Heritage Tournament. The track measures 7,101 yards and plays as an unusual par 71.  This is Jack Nicklaus’ first course design in collaboration with Pete Dye and is also one of the shortest layouts on the PGA TOUR schedule.  However, the track’s lack of length doesn’t mean it’s a walk in the park.  Narrow fairways and small greens combine to create nightmares for even some of the world’s best; requiring strategic shots to have a chance at any birdie opportunities. Harbour Town’s iconic red-and-white lighthouse behind the 18th green is still the major landmark of this beautiful course.  There is some rainy weather in the forecast which could look a lot like Augusta in last week’s final round.

Harbor Town Golf Links by Dan Perry

The Weather in Hilton Head, SC (from Weather.com)

• Round 1: Thursday (Apr 18) 72 degrees, 10% chance of rain, partly cloudy.
• Round 2: Friday (Apr 19) 73 degrees, 30% chance of rain, isolated T-Storms.
• Round 3: Saturday (Apr 20) 64 degrees, 50% chance of rain, showers.
• Round 4: Sunday (Apr 21) 67 degrees, 0% chance of rain, partly cloudy.

2012 Results: Carl Pettersson capped a five-shot victory here last year, which earned him his fifth PGA TOUR victory and tied him with Jesper Parnevik for the most wins by a Swedish golfer. The heavy set broom putter also finished his naturalization process earlier in the year, making this his first win as a U.S. citizen.  Carl had a one-stroke lead going into the final round, and ended up drilling three birdies in his first five holes on the way to a 2-under 69. Zach Johnson crept up the leaderboard closing with a 70 in the final round to move past Colt Knost (74) for second. Luke Donald tied for 37^th last year which was when he gave up his spot atop the world rankings to Rory McIlroy.

Notes:  Carl Pettersson will attempt to become the RBC Heritage’s fourth back-to-back winner (but we didn’t pick him this year). If he does in fact accomplish this feat, he’ll join a short list that includes Payne Stewart (1989-90), Davis Love III (1991-92) and Boo Weekley (2007-08).  Pettersson bounced back from an opening 76 at the Masters with a 70 that put him above the cut line.  Also in the field is two-time winner Stewart Cink, who’s been playing much better this year. Cink tied for sixth at the Shell Houston Open in his last outing, two weeks after placing 14th at the Tampa Bay Championship. Boo Weekley, who we chose as one of our long shots, returns to the site of his only two PGA TOUR wins, with one runner-up finish under his belt so far in 2013.

Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win to 2013 RBC Heritage:

• Brandt Snedeker (Golficity Odds 12/1): Sneds looked great last weekend at Augusta and it seems like he may have that early year swagger back in his golf bag.  Brandt shared 54-hole lead at the Masters but settled for a T6.  He’s certainly no stranger to this track and he won the RBC Heritage back in 2011.
• Jim Furyk (Golficity Odds 16/1): The 2010 Heritage champion has six top 10s in his last nine appearances – and this is why he sits on our top 5 picks list. Furyk finished T8 here last year and he’s coming off a T25 at the Masters. Jim currently ranks seventh on TOUR in fairways hit and 27th in adjusted scoring. He’s also made twelve consecutive cuts.
• Jason Day (Golficity Odds 22/1): Day held a 36-hole lead at the Masters but finished third behind his fellow countryman, Adam Scott. When he was co-runner-up at the Masters in 2011, he tied for ninth at Harbour Town two weeks later. Day shared 22nd place at H-Town in 2010 and ranks 28th in scrambling.  He could navigate this track easily…beware. 
• Matt Kuchar (Golficity Odds 22/1): Kuch had an up-and-down week at the Masters which finished him T8 – his fourth top 10 of the season.  Matt ranked T17 in greens hit and T10 in scrambling for the week at Augusta. Kuch has also made his last seven cuts at Harbour Town, four of which led to a top 25.
• Bill Haas (Golficity Odds 33/1):  Hass doesn’t have the stats to back up his play at H-Town. With only 3 in 8 cuts made and no top 25s, you may be wondering why he’s on this list. The 2011 FedExCup Champ is in a grove and playing increditbly well right now.  Hass co-leads the PGA TOUR with five top 10s and ranks sixth in greens hit (a stat that is important on this track).  He also co-led the Masters in par-4 scoring average and finished T20.

Sleeper Picks/Odds to Win:

• Aaron Baddeley (Golficity Odds 50/1):  Baddeley won here in 2006 when it was called the Verizon Heritage.  He did not play at Augusta after a T15 at the Valero Texas Open (his third top-15 finish of the season among seven cuts made in nine starts).  After winning the here in 2006, he added five consecutive top 25s at Harbour Town before missing last year’s cut by four strokes.
• Boo Weekley (Golficity Odds 50/1): The most recent back-to-back winner at Harbour Town (2007, 2008), Weekley has since added three top 15s with a T6 in 2012. Boo survived his last eight cuts this season, including a T8 in Puerto Rico and was a runner-up at the Tampa Bay Championship.

Last Week’s Fantasy Golf Predictions Results (The 2013 Masters)

Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win:

• Tiger Woods: (Golficity Odds 5/2): T4
• Phil Mickelson: (Golficity Odds 10/1): T54
• Justin Rose: (Golficity Odds 14/1): T25
• Rory McIlroy: (Golficity Odds 20/1): T25
• Matt Kuchar: (Golficity Odds 33/1): T8

Sleeper Picks/Odds to Win:

• Keegan Bradley: (Golficity Odds 45/1): T54
• Dustin Johnson: (Golficity Odds 50/1): T13

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(Cover Photo Credit)